


Behind the couch

by seratonation



Series: Tumblr prompts [8]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Ceiling Vent Clint Barton, Curious Tony, Domestic Avengers, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Nesting Clint Barton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-02
Updated: 2013-05-02
Packaged: 2017-12-10 04:47:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/781942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seratonation/pseuds/seratonation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the first line meme: If he hadn't looked behind the couch, it would never have happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Behind the couch

**Author's Note:**

> for flynn-the-cat <3

If he hadn’t looked behind the couch, it would never have happened. But no one can expect Clint Barton to find a hidden vent and not explore it. And now it’s been three days and he hasn’t come out once. 

“Don’t you need to eat?” Tony asked him, trying to see through the darkness. 

“I have enough food,” Clint’s voice echoed back to him through the vent.

“How?” Tony asked, “No one has seen you in days.”

“I wait till everyone’s asleep.”

“That’s not- why would you do that?” Tony asked, pushing his shoulders into the vent. 

“Then I don’t have to talk to anyone.”

“You’re talking to me,” Tony said, now in up to his waist. 

“Because you won’t go away.” Clint said, “leave me alone, Tony.”

“I just don’t get it,” Tony said, now all the way in, crawling on his hands and knees. 

“Tony, what are you doing?” Clint said, sighing, “You should just back up now before you get stuck.”

“Hey,” Tony said, warningly, getting closer still, “You and I are the same size, there is no way this would be easier for you.” There was a dip in the vent and he went with it, using his hands to keep a grip.

“I’ve had more practice,” Clint said, and now he definitely sounded closer, “it’s not your fault.”

Tony was going to give a smart reply when his now sweaty hand slipped on the surprisingly not dusty metal and he fell, sliding down the rest of the way with undignified thumps and bangs. When he came to a stand still he slowly pushed himself up and found it wasn’t claustrophobically tight anymore. 

He got himself into a sitting position and looked at Clint. “What the hell.”

“Big buildings, places like yours, usually end up with a couple of places like this,” Clint explained, “dead space where the calculations didn’t add up exactly.”

“I did the calculations for the building so they were perfect thank you very much,” Tony said, crossing his arms.

“And yet,” Clint said, “here we are in a dead space.”

“Tell me again,” Tony said, “why are we here?”

“I wanted to be alone and you followed me in like an idiot.”

“And how did all this stuff get here?” 

“I brought it in with me?” 

“You effectively moved into a hole in the wall.” Tony deadpanned, “I gave you a whole floor to yourself and you prefer this?”

Clint pulled his knees close to his chest and didn’t reply. 

“Fine,” Tony said, “have it your way.” He turned around and started to crawl back out. 

A couple of days later Clint came out and was promptly sent away on a mission for SHIELD. When he came back he found a vent in his room, that hadn’t been there before. He instinctively climbed into it, and found a note sitting just inside. 

_You were right, there where a few more of those dead spaces, I linked them all together, but you’ll have to furnish them yourself._

Clint grinned. He couldn’t wait to go exploring.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Behind the couch](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4311531) by [eliotkeats](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eliotkeats/pseuds/eliotkeats)




End file.
